You know Norton.
They’re the popular antivirus brand owned by cybersecurity conglomerate Gen Digital Inc. In 2022, NortonLifeLock Inc. merged with Avast to form Gen Digital Inc. This entity now owns Norton Secure VPN, Avast SecureLine VPN, and HideMyAss, all of which we have reviewed.
Since our last tests, Norton VPN has implemented WireGuard, expanded its server network, turned on P2P traffic support, and even changed its name (previously known as Norton WiFi Privacy). To see how it performs, we got our hands on the Norton 360 for Gamers subscription that includes it.
Now, this is not a standalone Norton VPN app and has fewer features. But if you’re a gamer who already has Norton 360 or plans on buying it, then our review outlines what exactly you can expect.
Norton Secure VPN Overview
Norton has significantly improved its VPN game. What felt like a side feature previously is now a capable tool with good speed, an intuitive app, and some streaming capabilities.
Gen Digital Inc. is a joint US and the Czech Republic business, so it’s not the best in terms of jurisdiction. That’s why Norton Secure VPN’s no-logs audit by VerSprite is a reassuring badge of trust.
Norton also joins a list of VPNs that issue transparency reports. It states how many times per quarter Norton VPN receives data requests on its users and reassures that its genuine no-logs policy prevents from sharing it.
Besides a VPN, the bundle we have includes a wide range of additional features. It offers a top-rated Norton antivirus, PC optimization, 50 GB of cloud backup, a firewall, and a password manager.
This puts Norton on the same step as Surfshark and NordVPN. But whereas VPNs are their primary services with anti-malware added later on, Norton was primarily an antivirus, and its VPN was significantly expanded during the last few years.
| OVERALL RANK: | #12 Out of 30 VPNs |
| USABILITY: | Very Easy To Use |
| LOG FILES: | No Logging Policy |
| LOCATIONS: | 30 |
| SUPPORT: | Email, Knowledgebase, Chat |
| TORRENTING: | Allowed |
| NETFLIX: | Struggles to Unblock |
| ENCRYPTION/PROTOCOL: | AES 256-bit, ChaCha20/OpenVPN, WireGuard, Mimic |
| COST: | From $3.33/mo |
| OFFICIAL WEBSITE: | www.Norton.com |
Norton Secure VPN Pros
As the offshoot of a major brand, Norton Secure VPN does enjoy more than a few good features.
Their software is legit, protecting you from data leaks and malware. Their underlying infrastructure is also solid, posting strong performance.
You can tell they have some subject-matter experts on staff who can deliver on providing a reliable tech infrastructure.
Here’s an in-depth look.
1. No DNS Leaks, Malware, or Virus Warnings Found
Good VPNs create a secure tunnel around your internet connection.
That way, all of your referring data gets forwarded to the VPN’s servers.
And as a result, all of your data — including the pages you visit or the things you download — is encrypted and masked with the data of thousands of other users.
Except for one thing.
Bad VPNs tell you there’s a secure tunnel only to leak your personal information for the world to see. They inadvertently expose your location, despite a little green “connected” check mark showing up on your app.
We run every single VPN connection through a series of different tests. Norton Secure VPN got the same treatment. And each one of their tests came back negative, which is unsurprising from cybersecurity experts.
- https://ipleak.net/ (none found)
- https://browserleaks.com/webrtc (none found)
- https://browserleaks.com/dns (none found)
No IP address leak.
No WebRTC leak.
No DNS leak.
Before allowing you to run ahead and install everything, we do one final check.
We also run each VPN’s installation files through VirusTotal.com to make sure there are no hidden surprises. A leak-free VPN connection is worthless if it infects your device with malware in the process. These tests also came back clean.
There’s only one thing we’d like to see differently. Like many VPNs, Norton also has a reactive kill switch that works only when the Norton app is on and identifies a VPN connection drop.
We’d like to see Norton join the likes of PureVPN and Proton VPN. Their kill switches block internet connection even if the VPN app is down, so it prevents a data leak if it suddenly crashes or you disconnect from the server mistakenly.
2. Easy To Use App
Norton Secure VPN gets the basics right. VPNs are incredibly important. Technically, there’s a lot going on behind the scenes.
But that doesn’t mean they should be overly sophisticated for users. In fact, they should be the opposite.
Each VPN client should have its features organized neatly. You shouldn’t have to dig or hunt or read a manual to figure out how it works.
Users should only need to point and click. Thankfully, that’s what we get from Norton Secure VPN.
Fire up the app and it can automatically get you connected to the fastest server it finds in its network.
Head on over to the “Change Location” tab to toggle between server locations or use P2P servers if you’re torrenting.
The only downside here is that Norton Secure VPN shows only countries, instead of individual cities or server locations.
Normally, this isn’t a big deal. However, if country servers are limited, it could be. For example, we couldn’t specify US East or West servers to mark down the connection speed from coast to coast.
On the ‘Settings’ tab, you can configure auto-connect, use split tunneling, and turn on a kill switch. This VPN also has an ad and tracker blocker, but it didn’t turn off ads on our local news site or on YouTube.
Overall, the app experience was quick and satisfactory, apart from the lacking adblock.
3. Good Overall Speed Rank
Norton Secure VPN offered better-than-usual speeds, performing on par with 30 VPNs we tested.
We put each VPN through the same exact testing process to evaluate its performance.
First, we mark down our baseline speed without a VPN connection. This way, we can eventually measure the difference to pinpoint how much we’re being slowed down.
Next, we connect to VPN servers in different regions. Here are Norton Secure VPN results.
Baseline:
- Download: 252.54Mbps
- Upload: 250.98Mbps
- Ping: 1ms
Fastest Server:
- Download: 238.44Mbps
- Upload: 241.21Mbps
- Ping: 18ms
EU Server:
- Download: 236.39Mbps
- Upload: 238.83Mbps
- Ping: 30ms
U.S. Server:
- Download: 229.75Mbps
- Upload: 231.82Mbps
- Ping: 104ms
Asia Server:
- Download: 212.90Mbps
- Upload: 217.45Mbps
- Ping: 276ms
Norton Secure VPN retained over 85% of the initial connection speed at the most distant server. In the US, it has a decent 104 ms ping, which is unavoidable due to fiber-optics cable limits.
Compared to other VPNs (like 147ms VyprVPN score), that’s a low ping, so Norton Secure VPN runs a speedy US server network. On a less positive note, we could not select a specific location in the US, which means results may be worse connected to west coast, which is farther away.
4. Decent Streaming Performance
If you’re looking for Netflix VPN, Norton VPN is not the best, because it only unblocks the Japanese library out of the four tested. Netflix is especially harsh on VPN users, and Norton is one of 13 VPNs that successfully unblocked this library, so you may have better luck than us elsewhere.
However, it worked on all other streaming services we tried accessing. Here’s us watching Harry Potter on HBO MAX on Amazon’s platform.
Amazon caught 15 VPNs out of 30 we reviewed and displayed error messages, so it’s evident Norton Secure VPN has decent streaming capabilities. We also unblocked BBC iPlayer on the first hit:
We also accessed Disney+ and Paramount+. As expected, we didn’t encounter buffering and only had to wait a bit due to natural long-distance latency differences.
5. No-Logging Policy
Norton says that it has a no-log policy. Big surprise. So does everyone else.
However, when we dug into its actual logging during our previous research, the privacy policy revealed that they do, in fact, log a few things:
- Subscriber information and mobile device data, including device name, type, OS version, and language;
- Aggregate bandwidth usage;
- Temporary usage data to assist with debugging a problem with the service.
Most of the stuff logged is for the usual reasons. Namely to maintain and improve VPN performance.
In reality, many VPNs do that. To verify user privacy, VerSprite cybersecurity experts audited Norton Secure VPN three times, two of which verified its no-logs policy.
That’s a reassuring practice, but it doesn’t change the fact that Norton is based in a 5-Eyes Alliance country. Let’s head into the Cons section.
Norton Secure VPN Cons
Norton Secure VPN delivered some solid infrastructure capable of providing a fast, secure connection.
What more could you want?
How about no renewal price increase, better device compatibility, and helpful customer support, for starters?
Take a look.
1. Privacy-Unfriendly Jurisdiction
Norton Secure VPN’s parent company, Gen Digital Inc., is headquartered in Tempe, Arizona.
That places them firmly inside the Five Eyes Surveillance Alliance.
That’s bad for a few reasons.
You already remember that Snowden guy. You know, that whole “the CIA can hack the browsing sessions and messages on your cell phone even when you’re 30,000 ft above solid Earth” bit.
Fun times.
The problem is what happens to that data after the CIA collects it.
Goes into a database of some sort. Pretty standard.
And then?
Every intelligence agent from Canada, the U.K., New Zealand, and Australia can access it.
But wait, there’s more!
This originating Five Eyes agreement is several decades old. Since then, it’s expanded to include 14 total countries, including:
- Denmark
- France
- Netherlands
- Norway
- Germany
- Belgium
- Italy
- Spain
- Sweden
Yikes. That’s a lot. Had to use two hands to count that high.
Unfortunately for your data and mine, you’d need a helluva lot more fingers to count all the people who now have access to you.
2. Limited Device Support
Norton markets its device compatibility as “VPN apps for every device”, but that’s not true. Firstly, you can protect up to 10 devices, which is more than some but fewer than unlimited (Private Internet Access, Surfshark).
Second, it does not work on Linux and does not provide configuration files for setting it up on routers. That makes it incompatible with gaming consoles like Xbox and PlayStation that do not support VPN apps.
Luckily, it has a VPN app for Google TV and Apple TV. However, it does not support Amazon (Kindle and Fire) and Huawei devices, and does not work in India due to governmental logging regulations.
There’s a bit too much chaos and too many restrictions here, so we’re putting device compatibility under the Cons section.
3. Useless Customer Support
We had a bad experience with Norton’s support when it belonged to Symantec. We will leave the chats visible, as things haven’t improved when we contacted support for this review.
The first time took a full five minutes wait before anyone connected:
Pro Tip: “Experiencing high volume of contacts” is business-speak for “we haven’t staffed enough people.”
When the rep did show up, they couldn’t answer any of our questions. It immediately became apparent that they had no idea what “protocols” or “encryption” mean.
The second experience was almost worse than the first.
I tried explaining about it in different ways. Then, he killed the chat session because I didn’t respond within a minute of his last message.
For this review, I wanted to verify whether Norton Secure VPN uses virtual servers, which they do. Still, it would be nice to know the real situation about their actual physical worldwide coverage.
Unfortunately, I got an AI chatbot answer that really should be better for a professional tech company. Here’s what it said asked about virtual servers:
It was obvious I’m not getting an answer, so I asked for a live agent. I was assured it will connect me to one, but that also didn’t happen:
After some time, the chat simply disconnected, which is identical to what happened with our past experience. So far, the customer support demands significant improvement.
4. Steep Auto-Renewal Prices
Renewal price increase is one of Norton’s aspects that nobody likes. In fact, it has one of the most aggressive auto-renewal price increase policies we’ve seen. We strongly recommend visiting its subscription renewal price list so that you don’t get any surprises when it charges you for another year.
Now, that’s not uncommon, as even our top VPN spots increase auto-renewal prices. In fact, only transparency leaders like Mullvad have fixed prices. But Norton really pushes it to the limit, as renewal prices can be more than two times its initial cost, see details below.
Norton Secure VPN Cost, Plans & Payment Methods
Norton Secure VPN has three pricing tiers, and all of them are for yearly subscriptions.
So it’s most affordable $3.33 per month during the first year, which is actually competitive, although you can find better prices. The Standard and Plus tiers also limit simultaneous connections to 5, with 10 reserved for the Ultimate plan.
The Standard plan is for VPN only, while Plus adds its antivirus, password manager, dark web monitor, and cloud backup. The Ultimate plan adds parental controls and all-family online safety features. Also, notice that all renewal costs are at least two times pricier, which places Norton Secure VPN above the market average after the first year ends.
Do We Recommend Norton Secure VPN?
We recommend Norton Secure VPN if you find value in its numerous bundles, like ours, Norton 360 for Gamers. As a standalone app, it doesn’t offer anything exceptional, apart from its renowned cybersecurity brand.
However, the significant improvements during the last few years are praiseworthy. WireGuard improved its speed, two audits verify the no-logs policy, and you get decent streaming outside of Netflix. Currently, Norton Secure VPN ranks at 12 out of 30.